(MarketWatch) — The city of New York issues eight to ten million parking tickets annually. But great news: Drivers will soon be able to use their smartphones to pay their fines instantly with mobile apps or cryptocurrencies.
The city’s finance department is looking into alternative payment methods like Apple Pay, PayPal and Bitcoin for the roughly $600 million in parking ticket revenue it collects annually by issuing up to 10 million tickets.
There has been a proliferation of new mobile payment technologies in recent months, including Apple Inc.’s Apple Pay AAPL, -1.90% , which saw its share of the mobile payments market climb to 1.7% in just its first six weeks on the market.
Hundreds of thousands of retail locations now accept Apple Pay and PayPal EBAY, -1.91% – and the two are expected to grow significantly in 2015. Meanwhile, well-known retail sites and companies, including Overstock.com OSTK, +2.32% and Microsoft Corp. MSFT, -1.21% , now accept digital currency bitcoin for certain online purchases.
As of now, the parking bureau’s system is pretty outdated. Drivers currently pay for tickets online, via mail or in person at the courthouse. However, the online system is not mobile friendly and credit and debit card payments are subject to a 2.5% convenience fee.
Mobile Options
The city said offering mobile options might help cut down on the fines it racks up each year from base fines and penalties on unpaid violations – late fees start 30 days after the ticket is issued.
Its vision include an “aesthetically pleasing” mobile interface that enables users to take a picture of their ticket (think Chase’s QuickDeposit), or scan the ticket’s barcode to seamlessly access their ticket details and initiate payment through a one-click system on their smartphone.
No set plans are in place. So far the city has only issued a Request for Information due Jan. 15 that seeks information about a potential mobile payments system. From there it will analyze any proposals issued.
While the city assumes the process will be better than the current setup, it says it has much to learn about the mobile technology market and whether its adoption would be viable. The RFI will assist its “understanding [of] the current market environment for mobile payment options,” it said.
This article originally appeared 0n MarketWatch and has been republished here for our readers. Log in below using your favorite social network and weigh in on the discussion.